The BIG Blog

Advanced Technology Believed to Be Key To Solving Country’s Problems

According to a recent Harris Poll, most Americans believe that advanced technology” will play a critical role in solving many of the country’s problems. The top 4 technology driven catalysts to recover from the current slump include:

1. Innovation and “technology sciences” in education  – 73%
2. Investing in hybrids and alternative fuels - 71% – acting as a support for the failing U.S. auto industry.
3. Production of “green products and services” – 67%
4. Management of medical records – 67%

Source: Harris Poll

Businesses Need More Than Analytics to Succeed

The current climate has highlighted the need for more information, faster, and in a format that is instantly usable. As companies seek to avoid the trap of massive discounting they are turning to analytics to identify opportunities to instead increase value, through bundling products with smaller, incremental margins.

Analytic insights about customers, products, channels, partners and pricing is only half of the solution. The other half being the profitable and strategic application of the information revealed from the analyltics. Thus, decision making is not wholly handed off to analytics. In the four step decision making process: framing the issue, intelligence negotiating outcomes and ongoing learnings gains immensely when the intelligence part of the equation is from valid data, rather than relying on accurate recollection of personal memory.

Thus, analytics must be integrated into the conceptual framework of decision management. This framework encapsulates not only the process used for decision making, but the business rules applied to the process, and the outcomes from each stage of the process.

Adding analytical insight into the decision making process is providing better operational decisions and more integrated strategies.

New MobileLite App for Salesforce Users

For those of you who find it valuable to keep all your data at your fingertips, you may be interested to know that Salesforce.com has just released a free version of Salesforce CRM Mobile called Mobile Lite. The app works on the Apple iPhone, BlackBerry® and Windows Mobile® devices.

Mobile Lite is currently available to Professional, Enterprise, and Unlimited Edition subscribers, and supports:

• Access to Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities etc
• View standard objects such as Dashboards
• Log calls and emails on the go
• Respond immediately to hot leads

For more information on Mobile Lite at http://www.salesforce.com/mobile/lite/

Overcoming Common BI Program Mistakes

The business environment is a complex interplay of internal and external forces that must be supported by agile, efficient and compliant technology. Business intelligence technology is the most affected capability by under-performing IT infrastructure and stagnant, poor quality information.

In an attempt to provide a quick fix to an organizations business intelligence needs, common errors come into play that not only prevent the speedy solution, but can plague a more robust BI program implementation.

The most common BI Program mistakes largely involve incorrect assumptions: Read the rest…

Gartner Sets Record Straight on SaaS BI on Demand

One of the main difficulties most businesses face when selecting software is separating the hype from the reality. This also applies to considering web-based on demand business intelligence analytics.

Gartner found that of the five commonly held assumptions – three are entirely false and the other two only partly true.

Businesses often don’t appreciate how quickly software can be improved after the initial launch. With such a competitive market, software development vendors are pressured to get products to market ASAP, and no longer wait for perfection in terms of either feature richness of functional performance. However, with feedback from early adopters, development continues vigorously and the applications can be almost transformed in the first 6-12 months. I think this is actually a really good process, as it helps to validate exactly what users do want, and not waste money developing performance or features that are not appreciated.

Of the five most commonly held assumptions about SaaS BI models:

1. SaaS is less expensive than on-premises software – TRUE

SaaS applications do not require large capital investment by businesses for licenses or support infrastructure. This can significantly reduce the total cost of ownership over the first two years. After this time, client site deployed applications can become more economical in terms of financial reporting [amortisation impact], however this is not necessarily true for an operational IT expense perspective.

2. SaaS is faster to implement than on-premises software – HALF TRUE

Speed of implementation for SaaS is faster for simple applications, however one must deliniate between initial implementation time and the additional time taken to deploy it to all users, which can take 2-3 times longer. As the complexity of processes and integration increase, the gap decreases. This is due to the larger percentage of the deployment time spent on customization, configuration and integration which can be equally difficult for both models.

3. SaaS is priced as a utility model, similar to electric companies – FALSE

Many vendors claim to charge on a usage basis, but in most cases they must commit to an agreed estimated usage independent of actual use.

4. SaaS does not integrate with on-premises applications and/or data sources – FALSE

Companies can integrate web based data using either batch synchronization, real-time integration using Web services or at the user-interface level through mashups.

5. SaaS is only for simple, basic requirements – FALSE

Whilst there are limits to customisation on SaaS models, the feature set of many applications rivals that of on-premise versions. SaaS vendors provide development platforms that enable high levels of configuration and the metadata level. The area of tightest constraint is in end-to-end processes requiring complexworkflow or business process management capabilities.

I hope this gives more confidence to those businesses considering SaaS models. For more on SaaS BI and vendor options available.

Microsoft Fighting Hard to Strengthen Position in BI Ranking

Microsoft has lagged in the business intelligence market, ranking fifth amongst main BI vendors last year in IDC rankings. In a strong push to gain more visibility in this rapidly growing market, Microsoft has announced two major projects to strengthen its position.

Project Gemini

Initial efforts from the desktop software giant were to more tightly integrate Excel with SQL Server and other back-end BI tools such as PerformancePoint Server or SharePoint Server. In it’s lastest move, Project Gemini will accelarate that effort with the aim of launching Excel based analytics mashup tools for Microsoft enthusiasts. Scheduled fro beta release late in 2009, the tools aim to provide capabilities such as in-memory, drag-and-drop, pivot-table-enabled dashboard and BI query access from Microsoft’s Dynamics 2009 ERP application. Sharing performance data will rely on browser based visualisation tools. Microsoft claims that the development will provide greater synthesis of Excel integration, ad-hoc self-service analytics authoring, collaborative publishing and sharing, and managed IT governance than currently provided by other major BI vendors such as SAP Business Objects, Oracle Hyperion, IBM Cognos and QlikTech – all of whom already offer BI/OLAP tools. A representative of Project Gemini, Kobielus claims “This is a game-changer for the BI and OLAP space, and will usher in the post-OLAP age of supremely versatile, deeply dimensional, user-developed analytics.”

Project Madison

Based on its recent acquisition of DATAllegro Microsoft is building a BI-focused version of SQL Server 2008, due for release n the first half of 2010. The preliminary version of Madison revealed at the BI Conference in Seattle last week, included a 150TB database running 24 separate instances of SQL Server 2008.

MS accepts it is playing catch up and is not aiming to compete with BI database giants such as Teradata, Oracle, IBM, Sybase, but with Excel being such a pervasive desktop tool, and the weakening economy driving companies to seek out cheaper and easier to roll out BI tools, the company seems confident they will have a market.

SAS to Provide BI to SMB Market

SAS have announced their intention to provide SAS Business Intelligence Solutions to the SMB Market through a strategic hosting alliance with Qualex and nGenX. The hosted services will harness the processing power of the latest HP BladeSystem and VMWare technology, focusing on availability, security and the lowest total-cost-of-ownership.

The products will include:

• SAS Analytics Pro for Midsize Business
• SAS BI & EBI for Midsize Business
• SAS Data Integration for Midsize Business
• SAS Marketing Automation
• SAS Service Parts Optimization
• SAS Visual Data Discovery for Midsize Business
• SAS Analytics Pro for Midsize Business

See more details on SAS BI onDemand for SMB on  The BI Guide

BI Cited ‘Top Technology’ for 2009

The latest Gartner 2009 CIO Agenda survey of 1500 CIO’s has revealed some surprising and not so surprising results.

Firstly, the not so surprising is that BI has been voted as the top technology for 2009, after all BI has held this spot since 2006.  What is surprising is that the focus is not on analytics – the survey indicated that the top CIO business expectation was in improving business processes. This surprised me, as many companies have supposedly already been through this era – or maybe is just wasn’t done well enough. The other inference I have made is that BI is now focusing on the operational value it contributes – what we refer to as OBI.

The rankings of exectations and technologies are:

Expectations

1. Reducing enterprise costs
2. Improving enterprise workforce effectiveness
3. Attracting and retaining new customers [#2 in 2008]
4. Creating new products or services [#3 in 2008], however innovation is forecast to move up the ladder to top spot by 2012.

 IT Strategies

1. Tighter link between business and IT strategies
2. Reducing the cost of IT [#10 in 2008]
3. Delivering projects that enable growth
4. Attracting, developing and retaining IT personnel

 Technologies

1. Business intelligence [BI] [ since 2006]
2. Enterprise applications such as CRM or ERP
3. Servers and storage technologies.

 The survey results overall are not surprising. As the current market is hardly conducive to growth strategies for most businesses, it is an ideal time to refocus on core business and get better at the basics. BI is known for its ability to improve productivity whilst reducing costs. We can not overlook the past carnage of poorly implemented BI projects and tools that were too difficult for most business users to integrate into their daily operations. However, in the past two years this scenario has changed signficiantly, with tools much more business oriented and the knowledge base of implementation best practice taking learnings from the past and crafting far better BI program practices of today. The other missing link I will personally add is the level of education the business receives, not in using BI but in why they should be using it, and exactly how it improves a business from single user self performance management all the way up to the boardroom strategy.

Virtualisation, cloud computing and software-as-a-service [SaaS] are also acknowledged as cost reducing strategies but many IT managers are still cautious around availability, security, and a full functional fit. Such technologies are gaining favor with mid to small enterprises that may not have the full IT capabilities of larger corporates.

Overall,  although BI is voted the top technology for 2009, the ‘killer app’ is ‘Leadership’. Companies don’t want consultants giving them a set of options – they want strong leadership paths to drive their businesses through the current downturn and still come out having advanced in some way. It may not be with customer growth and revenue growth, but I expect we will see leaner and meaner businesses forging ahead with renewed vigor and tighter focus.

Survey base: N=1500 CIOs worldwide, Duration= 3 months to Dec 15, 2008. Average company size = 400, average IT budget = $90 million.

Ignore It, Accept Defeat or Take Control

I am sure that most of you have been bombarded with blog entries and articles on how to survive the tough times. Although they all offer valuable advice, I have just watched a brief video by Elay Cohen, VP Product Marketing Salesforce.com, which I found extremely inspiring for several reasons. Titled ” Taking Control In an Uncertain Economy”, it resonates the same title message common in many of todays posts and articles, but the content was refreshingly simple. And that simplicity is what made the biggest impression. The opening statements were:

The three choices you have to respond to the current situation:

1. Ignore It,
2. Accept Defeat, or
3. Take Control

And the way to take control is to put the customer back into the center of your business

“Act on every lead, Win every deal, Keep every customer.”

It is easy for businesses to seek complex solutions to simple problems, and whilst the magnitude of the problem today is significant, the best response is quite simple. If your business does not have the tools to give you total transparency to know how well you are performing in each of these three key areas:

Act on Every Lead – Lead generation, Query to Response Cycle time

Win Every Deal – Deal win rate, Sales Cycle Time, Average Sales Value

Keep Every Customer – Customer Satisfaction, Support Tickets, Customer Retention, Churn Rate to Competitors

You need to know exactly what your cusotmers want, deliver it in the way they want it delivered, and do it better than your competitors. CRM and BI tools are NOT just for big businesses, and they are not only affordable by big business. With the Software-as-a-Service model:

• Simple – Customers do not need any hardware or software installed on premise, meaning implementation times are short and painfree.
• Affordable – Access to the tools is on a monthly pay-as-you go basis, meaning there are no hefty up-front licence fees.
• Effective – dashboards and screens are out-of-the-box configured, and easily customised by the business to start giving invaluable information in a very short time.

These tools convert the data you already have and are collecting on an hour by hour basis into usable, actionable information. If you can not see the change in state of your business in real time, you are going to find it very difficult to make the best of the current market environment.

The type of successes experienced by even large, cumbersome businesses are:

Sales Pipleline – 172% increase

Sales Growth – 70% increase

Team Productivity – 20% increase

It’s no longer a matter of not being able to afford CRM/BI tools – it’s a matter of not being able to afford to NOT have them.

I highly recommend you take 15mins to view the Webinar as a reminder as to what the core of your business is all about

For more information on SaleForce.com  solutions

Designing Dashboards for Situation Awareness

The level of awareness an individual has for a situation – of knowing what is going on at any one time and how it fits into or impacts the overall system. Effective dashboards increase situational awareness but the danger of fixation on the measure, rather than the meaning and impact can overwhelm the advantage to sometimes disasterous results.

A well documented case by Endsley, Bolte and Jones [2003] tells of how a myopic focus on monitoring resulted in an airplane being flown into a mountain side whilst pilots argued about the cause of a flashing light. In fact 88% of human error in aircraft crashes are the result of poor situational awareness. The other 12% is through poor decision making or poor execution. Whilst the pilots were seen to do their job correctly, they were unable to readily access the information behind the dashboard indication.

Yet little attention is given to ensuring that situational awareness is a factor in dashboard design and integration of such BI tools into processes. The primary reasons given for this are:

• Executive dashboards are too generic and role specific to benefit from SA based development
• Operational dashboards are too costly to develop incorporating iterative SA practices

However, 50 SA dashboard design guidelines have been developed by Endsley, divided into 6 categories:

1. Organize information around goals – for instance, with pilots, the amount of gas is not important in itself, but in terms of ability to reach the destination with required fuel reserves and below landing fuel weight, based on the current environmental conditions is what is important to the pilot.
2. Directly support comprehension – indicate relative importance of different measures, their target values and deviation parameters
3. Support global SA – specific goals should be viewed in context of the overall picture
4. Context driven alerts – only include threshold alerts where important for the current task
5. Make context changes apparent – alerts received must be done in a context that provides awareness of a new situation
6. Use projections – trend information helps users create a mental model of future behavior

Two other factors that impact SA when using dashboards are the users confidence in the data viewed and the complexity of the design of the dashboard. For more on BI Dashboards